THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


C378 
UK3 

1851A 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00036721119 


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ADDRESS 


I)F.LITEni;i)    KEFORB  THB 


TWO  LITERARY  SOCIETIES 


OF  TBE 

m 

■   UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


JUNE    4,    1  851 


W.    W,    AVERY,    ESQ 


^v.%U%f)tt}  iig  Qx^ix  of  t^c  miaiecJic  ^QtUtv. 


RALEIGH: 

PRINTED  BY   WILLIAM   W.   HOLDEN. 
18  5  1.      . 


Dialectic  Hall,  June  5tii,  1851. 
Sir: 

The  undersigned  have  been  appointed,  on  behalf  of  the  Dialectic 
Society,  to  return  you  its  most  sincere  thanks  for  the  able  and  interesting 
Address  delivered  by  you  on  yesterday,  and  to  request  a  copy  for  publi- 
cation. 

Permit  us,  Sir,  in  communicating  the  wish  of  our  Society,  to  add 
our  personal  solicitations,  and  indulge  the  hope  that  you  will  grant  their 
request. 

With  very  great  respect, 

Leon.  F.  Siler, 
Legh  R.  Waddell, 
Thos.  L.  Williambon, 

Committee, 
W.  W.  Avery,  Esq. 


Chapel  IIill,  June  Cth,  I80I. 
Gentlemen  : 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  polite  favor  of  the  5th  instant,  communi- 
cating the  wshes  of  the  Dialectic  Society,  touching  the  publication  of  the 
Address  delivered  by  me  before  the  two  Literary  Societies,  on  the  day 
jireceding  the  late  Commencement. 

I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  Address  ;  and,  in  doing  so,  permit  me  to 
express  my  regret  that  it  is  not  more  worthy  the  flattering  notice  which 
the  Society  proposes  to  bestow  upon  it. 

Accept  my  acknowledgments  for  the  kind  terms  in  which  you  have 
conveyed  the  request  for  its  publication,  and  believe  me  to  be, 
A'ery  respectfidl}'. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  \\.  AVEKY. 

Messi-s.  L.  F.  Silek,  , 

L.  R.  Waddei.i,, 
T.  L,  AVilliamsok. 


A  D  1)  II  E  8  S . 


Gkktlemkn-  of  the  riiiLAXTiiKOPic  AKD  Dialectic  Societiks  ; 

III  attempting  to  follow  the  path  of  those  eminent 
men,  who  have  gained  fresh  laurels,  and  enhanced  re- 
putations already  exalted,  by  their  lessons  of  wasdom 
and  instruction,  imparted  at  the  annual  festivals  of  our 
Alma  Mater,  I  must  claim  much  from  your  indulgence. 

I  cannot  flatter  myself  that  an  Address,  prepared 
amid  the  avocations  of  a  professional  life,  affording  few 
hours  of  leisure  for  literary  pursuits,  will  conform  to  the 
cultivated  taste  of  those  who  are  accustomed  to  see  this 
position  occupied  by  Statesmen  and  Orators,  and  to 
hear,  from  the  lips  of  Genius  and  Learning,  an  instruc- 
tive expression  of  the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  But  I  in- 
dulge the  hope,  that  the  sincerity  with  which  I  offer 
this  tribute  of  homage  at  the  shrine  of  Science  and 
Learning,  will  command  your  approval,  though  I  may 
fail  to  send  this  brilliant  assemblaoe  of  talent,  intelli- 
gence,  and  beauty,  to  their  homes,  in  a  mood  of  2:)erfect 
gratification. 

From  the  broad  plain  of  Philosophical  Inquiry — • 
from  the  wide  field  of  Literary  Speculation — and  from 
the  extended  domain  of  Science  and  Art,  various  sub- 
jects arise,  that  would  be  attractive  to  the  speaker,  and 
which  are  commended  to  his  consideration  by  the  pre- 
eminence usually  given  to  them  as  themes  for  discussion 
at  literary  anniversaries  ;  but  your  well-stored  libraries 
furnish  sources  for  acquisition  in  all  the  departments  of 


6 

learning,  far  more  accurate  and  lucid  than  any  disserta- 
tion, comj^rised  in  the  condensed  form  of  an  Address, 
however  elaborate  the  aroument,  and  thouoh  its  reason- 
ing  might  be  presented  in  all  the  brilliancy  and  glow, 
and  with  all  the  intensity  of  eloquence.  Books  are  the 
real  sources  of  all  learning.  They  perpetuate  truth  — 
they  record  the  discoveries  in  science.  And  when  the 
truths  they  contain  are  expounded,  and  the  discoveries 
they  record  are  illustrated,  by  the  wise  and  learned 
men  who  direct  your  studies  liere,  no  more  "royal  road 
to  learning"  can  be  devised;  and  the  youth  may  well 
despair  of  attaining  excellence,  who  sighs  for  other 
channels  of  instruction. 

The  speaker,  on  an  occasion  like  this,  can  aspire  to 
no  higher  purpose  than  an  earnest  effort  to  give  fresh 
impulse  to  the  mind  of  ingenuous  youth,  in  its  search 
after  knowledge,  by  impressing  upon  it  tlie  conviction, 
that  the  attainment  of  excellence  in  all  tilings  is  not 
only  a  high  moral  and  personal  duty,  but  is  likewise  an 
obligation  of  patriotism,  imposed  by  the  ^tate  whose 
bounty  is  enjoyed.  This  latter  obligation  it  is  my  in- 
tention to  enforce,  by  the  highest  considerations  which 
can  intluence  man's  actions  with  reference  to  his  duties 
on  earth ;  and,  in  that  connection,  to  inculcate  the  sen- 
timent, and,  if  possible,  to  engender  the  feeling  of  State 
Pride. 

And  here  allow  me  to  premise,  that  I  do  not  intend 
to  discuss  any  creed  of  political  ethics,  in  its  usual  ac- 
ceptation, or  mar  the  harmony  of  this  festive  scene  by 
rainglinw  witii  its  ceremonials  the  discordant  elements 
of  party  strife.  I  wish  to  present  this  sentiment  to  your 
consideration,  in  its  bes-t  and  liighest  sense,  as  worthy  of 
all  commendation,  and  a  fit  companion  in  the  patriot's 
bosom,  for  those   holy  influences   which  awaken  there, 


reverence  for,  antl  devotion  to  his  God.  And  having 
chosen  this  subject  for  the  purpose  of  enabhng  me  to 
speak  freely,  and  describe  fully  to  \'oii  the  condition  oi 
that  State  upon  whose  soil  you  were  born,  whose  career 
you  may  hereafter  direct  and  control,  and  of  whose 
wants  and  interests  ^'Oii  cannot  be  too  early  advised,  I 
shall  discuss,  at  its  |)roper  place,  the  probable  influence 
which  the  active  existence  of  this  feehng  in  North  Car- 
olina would  exercise  over  her  future  destiny. 

State  pride  is  an  active  desir<3  to  see  our  immediate 
country  prosperous  and  happy.  It  has  its  origin  in 
that  love  for  the  land  of  our  birth,  which  is  one  of  the 
strongest  instincts  of  our  nature,  and  incites  nobler  ac- 
tions, and  induces  greater  sacrifices,  than  any  other 
impulse  of  man's  bosom.  Love  of  birth-place  and 
home,  is  developed  simultaneously  with  those  warm 
affections  for  parents  —  brothers  —  friends,  that  exist 
around  the  family  hearth,  and  which,  if  cultivated, 
cluster  ever  after  about  the  human  heart.  As  associa- 
tion expands  the  scope  of  affection,  this  feeling  extends 
to  the  sooial  system  around  us,  and  is  gradually  enlar- 
ged, until  it  comprises  within  its  devotion  the  entire 
Government  of  the  country  w^e  inhabit.  No  Govern- 
ment has  ever  retained  the  allegiance  of  its  citizens 
where  this  sentiment  has  languished;  and  no  country 
has  flourished  where  it  was  not  taiight  as  a  principle, 
cherished  as  a  passion,  and  made  fiut^ordinate  only  to 
religiqji,  in  the  ardor  with  which  it  glowed  in  the  bosom 
of  the  j^eople.  But  the  force  and  effiediency  of  this  feel- 
ing, in  controlling  our  actions,  stimulating  high  resolves, 
and  securing  the  sacrifice  of  individiiial  interest  to  the 
public  good,  depends  upon  the  extent  ^of  the  area  of  its 
operation.  And  in  order  to  make  it  active,  effective, 
ttnd   self-sacrificing  —  I  speak   \vith   reference   to    the 


public  weal — ■that  area  should  be  circumscribed  by 
fixed  and  definite  boundaries,  and  must  not  be  too 
extensive,  for  each  successive  enlargement  of  the  cir- 
cle of  its  sympathy  weakens  its  intensity,  precisely  as 
our  affection  for  family  — relative — 'friend  —  country- 
maU)  becomes  less  ardent  as  it  diverges  from  the  prin- 
cipal focus  of  concentration. 

The  division  of  the  vast  territory  of  our  ReiDublic 
into  StateS)  with  known  and  fixed  boundaries,  and  hav- 
ing the  entire  control  of  their  own  internal  police  and 
government,  thereby  concentrating  the  actions,  thoughts, 
and  afiections  of  their  people,  while  it  constitutes  the 
strength  and  beauty  of  our  political  system,  is  likewise 
the  chief  element  of  the  prosperity  of  our  Republic. 
As  liberal  competition  between  individuals,  in  the  race 
for  honorable  distinction,  is  the  greatest  incentive  to 
success,  so  does  the  generous  rivalry  among  the  mem- 
bers of  our  family  of  States,  in  their  contest  for  pre- 
eminence in  improving  and  ameliorating  the  condition 
of  their  people,  ensure  to  each  greater  progress  in  the 
march  of  improvement ;  and  the  aggregate  of  character 
and  prosperity  thus  attained  by  the  several  States,  im- 
parts to  the  Republic  the  glory  and  grandeur  of  its 
national  character. 

Much  of  the  well-merited  renown  acquired  by  our 
arms  upon  the  plains  of  Mexico,  may  be  ascribed  to  the 
noble  emulation  which  was  excited  in  the  bosoms  of  the 
several  corps  of  patriotic  soldiers,  representing  the  dif- 
ferent States  of  the  Union.  Marching  under  a  banner, 
clothed  in  the  emblems,  and  inscribed  with  the  motto 
of  Ais  State,  each  citizen-soldier  approached  the  field  of 
battle,  proudly  conscious  that  her  honor  and  character 
were  confided  to  his  keeping;  and,  as  he  beheld  his 
brethren  from  the  other  States  unfurling  their  respec- 


live  banuerri,  and  marshalliiio-  thomselves  beneath  their 
ibid?;,  he  resolved,  with  a  hero's  spirit,  that  the  flag  of 
his  native  State  should  be  foremost  in  the  van,  whilst  a 
single  hand  was  lei't  to  carry  and  defend  it. 

Thus  inspirited,  the  citizen-soldier  of  America  has 
proved  himself  invincible.  And  if  the  same  noble  spirit 
of  emulation,  existing  and  operating  in  the  civil  depart- 
ments of  life,  would  animate  and  direct  the  people  of 
all  the  States  in  this  Union,  what  limit  could  human 
prophecy  affix  to  their  intellectual,  social,  political,  and 
moral  advancement !  Would  to  God  that  our  beloved 
State  thrilled  from  centre  to  circumference  with  the 
inspiration  of  this  spirit !  Would  that  I  could  this  day 
enkindle  in  your  bosoms  the  regenerating  spark  I  For 
I  am  licre  to  speak  for  North  Carolina — to  appeal  from 
her  children  whose  generation  is  passing  away,  to  those 
whose  generation  will  soon  succeed  them ;  and  if  I 
shall  speak  plainly  and  boldly,  it  is  because  all  that  I 
am — -all  that  I  have  —  and  all  that  the  future  has  in 
store  for  me,  are  hers,  and  from  my  fall  and  perfect 
consciousness  of  loyalty  to  her  institutions  and  her  in- 
terests, I  claim  the  privilege  of  telling  you  the  truth, 
and  recounting  the  simple  story  of  her  wrongs. 

North  Carolina  connnenced  her  career  as  a  member 
of  this  Union  with  an  average  share  of  the  wealth,  in- 
telligence,  and  virt^ie,  then  existing  among  the  Colonies. 
And  it  is  true,  she  has  increased  in  population — in 
wealth  —  in  intellioence — in  most  of  the  elements  that 
constitute  the  greatness  of  a  State.  But  has  that  in- 
crease been  commensurate  with  the  progress  of  the 
world  around  us  \  Is  she  not  immeasurably  behind 
many  of  her  compeers  \  While  she  pauses,  after  short 
and  conxulsive  efforts  at  progress,  are  not  her  proud 
sisters    movino    onward    in  tlieir  career,  and  widening- 


10 

the  distance  which  separates  her  irom  ihem  t  Do  you 
require  evidence  that  she  occupies  a  position  so  low  in 
the  scale  of  progress  I  As  a  primary  question,  I  ask 
you,  Where  are  the  memorials  of"  her  advancement  I 
Where  are  the  works  ol'  puhlic  improvement,  propor- 
tionate to  the  resources  and  means  ot  her  people,  attest- 
ing their  public  spirit  I  A  lew  partial  works  of  im- 
provement in  one  section,  struggling  into  precarious 
existence,  and  sustained  alone  by  their  small  band  of 
Spartan  projectors,  and  a  single  grand  scheme  progress- 
ing, which  has  been  saved  from  positive  i'ailure  only  by 
unparalleled  exertions,  although  a  munificent  subscrip- 
tion had  been  made  by  the  State  to  aid  its  consumma- 
tion— these  arc  the  only  monuments  of  their  public 
spirit. 

Where  are  the  magnificent  schemes  of  private  en- 
terprize,  the  results  of  individual  or  associated  effort, 
exhibiting  the  energy  of  a  thriving  j)opulation  ?  A  few 
manufaetories  here  and  there,  wdthout  facilities  for 
transportation,  and  with  indiflerent  patrons.,  who  prefer 
to  purchase  every  thing  from  abroad,  are  the  only  re- 
flections from  the  fields  of  enterprize  in  a  State  where 
one  portion  of  her  population  are  never  beyond  the 
sound  or  echo  of  a  waterfall,  whilst  all  of  them  are 
daily,  hourly,  surrounded  by  the  elements  of  steam. 

Where  are  the  flourishino-  cities,  dotting  an  extend- 
ed  seaboard  —  marts  for  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
and  reflecting  the  w-orld's  intelligence  to  the  interior  I 
Let  the  struggles  of  the  spirited  citiz^ens  of  a  single 
town,  whose  noble  and  manly  efforts  should  be  rewai'd- 
ed,  for  a  season  at  least,  with  half  the  trade  that  floats 
upon  the  ocean,  answer  the  question. 

Where  are  the  striking  exhibitions  of  our  inventive 
genius,  indicating  the  skill  of  our  artizans  in  mechanism'? 


11 

The  Patent  Oftice  answers,  that  few  testimonials  oi'  Of/r 
enterprize  or  skill  are  spread  upon  its  records,  and  tells 
the  painftd  story,  that  we  are  spending  the  hard  earn- 
ings of  our  industry  in  ])urchasing  irom  abroad  the  poor 
privilege  of  using  the  inventions  of  others. 

In  that  grand  panorama  of  the  art  and  industry  of 
the  civilized  world,  now  beingr  exhibited  across  the  At- 
lantic,  what  niche  or  corner  is  occupied  by  specimens 
of  art  and  industry,  or  .even  by  the  productions  of  agri- 
culture, from  North  Carolina?  T  hope  that  no  stranger 
from  abroad,  no  citizen  from  our  sister  States,  will  ask 
i/ou  that  question,  for  i/ou  will  blush  to  answer  it. 

What  have  we  accomplished  in  the  great  cause  of 
popular  education  1  What  expenditures  have  we  made 
to  disseminate  intelligence  among  the  mass  of  our  peo- 
ple, and  thereby  lay  deep  and  broad  the  foundations  of 
popular  freedom  I  We  received  a  fund  from  abroad, 
in  terms  a  loan,  but  in  effect  a  donation.  We  estab- 
lished a  system  of  Common  .Schools  and  devoted  that 
fund  to  their  maintenance.  The  fund  has  proved  in- 
adequate to  give  life  and  vitality  to  the  system,  and, 
instead  of  increasing  it  from  our  own  abundant  resour- 
ces, and  quieting  the  public  mind  by  enlarging  it  to  an 
amount  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  all  sections,  we 
.are  calmly  witnessing  a  contest  touching  its  distribu- 
tion, that  may  terminate  either  in  the  destruction  of  the 
system  itself,  or  in  the  alienation  of  the  affections  of  our 
people  from  each  other.  And,  pending  this  prolonged 
conflict,  the  great  cause  languishes,  almost  to  stagnation, 
because  the  mass  of  our  people  have  abandoned  schools 
founded  upon  private  subscription,  in  the  confident  ex- 
pectation that  their  children  would  be  allowed  the 
privilege  of  drinking  deep  from  the  fountains  of  public 
instruction. 


1:? 

i.L  15  true,  wc  luivc  tins  '■  tiiiie-iioiiorcd  LJiiiversity,'' 
a  lasting  monument  of"  the  wisdom  and  liberality  of  its 
founders,  and  left  to  us,  by  tliem,  as  the  richest  heritage 
they  could  bestow ;  and  each  generation  of  young  men, 
as  they  have  successiveh'  sought  its  advantages,  have 
been  advanced  in  the  various  departments  of  learning, 
and  all  that  wise  instruction  and  rigorous  disci])line 
could  accomplish,  in  cultivating  their  minds,  tempering 
their  imaginations,  and  jjurifying  their  hearts,  has  been 
well  and  nobly  performed  here.  But,  in  return  for  all 
this,  what  contributions  have  been  made  to  Literature, 
to  Science,  or  to  Art  ? 

Where  is  North  Carolma  s  Literature,  beyond  the 
altars  that  surround  us  now? 

The  important  records  of  her  own  Colonial  History 
are  not  yet  even  compiled,  and  the  most  memorable 
events  connected  with  her  career,  either  lie  mouldering 
in  musty  parchments,  or  exist  alone  in  a  tradition,  that 
the  stream  of  time  will  soon  render  too  imperfect  a 
medium  for  transmitting  to  posterity  the  truths  of  His- 
tory. Her  mountains,  streams,  and  vallies,  abound  in 
legends  and  traditionary  lore — blending  the  cruelties 
and  barbarities  of  Indian  warfare,  and  the  stoic  heroism 
of  savage  warriors,  with  the  trials,  sufferings,  and  ulti- 
mate triumphs  of  our  forefathers — with  all  that  is  pic- 
turesque and  beautiful  in  nature  around  them  to  inspire 
the  genius  of  Poetry  and  awaken  the  spirit  of  Romance. 
Yet,  how  few  are  the  scenes  consecrated  to  the  Muses  ! 
And  still  more  rare,  the  incidents  in  her  early  career, 
which  have  been  moulded,  by  the  plastic  hand  of  Fic- 
tion, "  to  point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale." 

Where  are  her  discoveries  in  Science,  or  the  in- 
stances of  her  application  of  its  established  princijiles, 
in  improved  forms,  to  promote  the  comfort  or  happiness 


13 

of  mankind  ?  Slie  has  ascended  the  platform  which 
others  liave  erected,  Ijut  seeks  not,  by  the  simple  light 
of  her  own  genius,  to  explore  the  ascent  beyond. 

Where  are  her  specimens  of  Art,  sketched  by  a 
Raphael's  pencil,  or  springing  life-like  from  a  Canova's 
chisel  ?  The  one  exists  only  in  the  unreflected  bean- 
ties  of  nature ;  the  other  lies  buried  in  her  numberless 
(piarries  of  native  marble,  which  not  even  the  hand  of 
Utility,  much  less  the  finger  of  Taste,  has  yet  pointed 
out  for  exploration. 

Where,  in  fine,  are  all  those  other  imposing  testi- 
monials, indicating  the  growth,  prosperity,  and  power 
of  a  flourishing  Commonwealth  ?  The  Statesman  and 
Philanthropist  will  find  them  nowhere  within  our  bor- 
ders, unless  they  exist  in  the  latent  and  undeveloped 
energies  of  our  people. 

This  picture  of  the  condition  of  our  beloved  State, 
gloomy  and  lamentable  as  it  may  be,  is  literally  true. 
I've  extenuated  nothing,  "nor  set  down  aught  in  mal- 
ice." Had  I  loved  her  less,  I  should  not  dare,  thus 
rudely,  to  draw  aside  the  veil  and  expose  her  deform- 
ities. But  there  is  a  fault  somewhere,  and  there  is  a 
remedy.  I  invite  your  attention  whilst  I  seek  the  one 
and  explain  the  other. 

The  torpor  wdiich  I  may  have  made  painfully  mani- 
fest to  you,  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  inferiority  in  the 
mental  or  physical  organization  of  our  people ;  they 
are,  in  the  main,  Anglo-Saxon  in  their  origin,  claiming 
descent  from  an  ancestry  common  alike  to  most  of  the 
citizens  of  the  other  States  in  the  Union ;  and  we  can 
divine  no  cause  that  w^ould  render  the  descendants 
within  our  territory  less  vigorous  in  mind  or  body  than 
their  forefathers.  It  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  pecu- 
HaritY  in   our  institutions  and  form   of  government,  for 


11 

tlie  most  pj'osperous  States  tliat  surround  us  are  blessed 
with  the  same  institutions,  and  governed  by  the  same 
general  policy. 

The  character  of  our  soil  has  not  dispirited,  nor  has 
our  climate  enervated,  our  population.  The  soil,  in  re- 
turn for  the  labors  of  the  husbandman,  yields  an  abun- 
dant harvest,  and  is  no  less  remarkable  for  the  quantity 
than  the  infinite  variety  of  its  productions ;  whilst  the 
climate,  without  creating  any  perceptible  change  in  the 
temperaments  or  characteristics  of  our  people,  is  so 
modified,  in  different  sections,  that  snow-clouds  float 
upon  our  mountains  at  the  same  time  that  flowers 
brought  from  the  tropics  are  blooming  on  our  Eastern* 
shore,  and  exhaling  sweet  odours  beneath  a  Summer's 
sun.  The  absence  of  public  virtue,  nor  practice  of 
vice  and  immorality,  can  not  have  blunted  the  moral 
sense  of  her  population,  for  in  no  other  State  is  virtue 
more  highly  appreciated — integrity  so  scrupulously 
practised — vice  more  generally  reprobated —  and  crime 
so  certainly  punished.  The  torpor  of  the  Body  Politic 
of  which  I  speak,  has  its  origin  in  none  of  these  causes, 
but  results  from  the  total  want  of  State  Pride  among 
our  people,  in  the  sense  that  I  have  considered  it. 

The  extinction  of  this  sentiment — or  I  should  rather 
say  decay,  for  I  hope  the  germ  still  exists — has  been 
occasioned,  in  an  eminent  degree,  by  the  course  and 
action  of  the  prominent  public  men  in  our  State,  who 
give  tone  to,  and  control  public  opinion  ;  and,  in  ar- 
raigning them  at  the  bar  of  that  public  opinion  which 
they  have  misdirected,  and  holding  them  responsible 
lor  the  dire  consequences  to  our  most  vital  interests, 
which  have  followed  in  the  train  of  their  conduct  and 
example,  I  intend  no  injustice  to  the  living — I  mean 
jio  disrespect  to  the   dead.     On  the  contrarv,  if  time 


jienintted,  it  \\ould  he  a.  pleasing  as  well  as  a  grateful 
task,  whilst  awakeiiinp-  the  slumberiug  energies  of  the 
one,  to  canonize  the  virtues  of  the  other.  We  have 
had  —  we  now  have  Patriots,  Statesmen,  and  Orators, 
whose  love  of  country,  talents,  and  eloquence,  would 
render  them  ornaments  to  any  vState ;  but,  in  selecting 
objects  for  the  peculiar  devotion  of  their  pati-iotism, 
and  in  choosing  theatres  for  the  exercise  and  display  of 
their  talents  and  eloquence,  they  have,  in  my  humble 
judgment,  committed  a  most  grievous  error,  and  that 
error  I  shall  summon  the  boldness  to  expose. 

There  exists  in  this  Republic  the  singular,  3'et,  as 
time  has  shown,  consistent  anomaly  of  two  Governments 
operating  wathin  the  several  States  at  the  same  time, 
and  intended  to  work  harmoniously  in  the  same  sys- 
tem— one  domestic,  acting  directly  uj^on  the  immediate 
interests  of  its  citizens,  in  the  protection  of  their  jiersons 
and  property  —  the  other  chiefly  foreign,  having  its 
powers  defined  by  express  delegation,  and  entering 
the  domestic  circle  only  in  specified  instances,  where 
that  invasion  is  necessary  to  consummate  the  main  and 
principal  purpose  contemplated  in  its  creation.  The 
discussion  of  the  extent  and  nature  of  the  powers  thus 
delegated  to  the  latter,  and  of  the  propriety  of  their  ex- 
ercise under  various  circumstances,  has  originated  pol- 
itical parties,  organized  with  reference  to  these  ques- 
tions. Such  parties,  when  founded  upon  principle, 
arraying  men  who  honestly  differ  in  opinion  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  questions  of  national  policy,  and,  when 
confined  to  the  legitimate  purpose  of  advancing  issues 
thus  made,  are  eminently  conservative.  Their  con- 
flicts elicit  truth  and  expose  error,  and  no  patriot  can 
regret  their  existence,  or  will  refuse  connection  and 
affiliation  with  them.     Solon  incorporated   a   provision 


16 

in  the  Athenian  code,  requiring  every  man  to  take  one 
side  or  the  other  in  the  discussion  and  ultimate  decision 
of  public  questions,  in  order  to  secure  the  wisdom  and 
counsel  of  virtuous  men.  These  questions  of  a  national 
character  are  sometimes  of  great  magnitude,  involving 
the  rights  of  the  States,  the  fate  of  the  Union,  yea,  the 
existence  of  Constitutional  liberty  itself,  and,  in  such 
emergencies,  they  demand  the  highest  consideration 
from  every  citizen  in  the  respective  States ;  but  they 
are  oftimes  mere  ephemeral  issues,  creating  a  momen- 
tary excitement  and  then  passing  away,  having  affected, 
in  no  serious  respect,  the  general  welfare.  In  no  in- 
stance, however,  can  the  internal  regulations  and  local 
interests  of  any  one  of  the  States  be  made  subordinate 
and  inferior  in  the  scale  of  importance,  to  questions  and 
issues  pertaining  to  the  Federal  Government,  without 
retarding  the  progress  and  endangering  the  future  wel- 
fare of  the  particular  State  whose  public  sentiment  may 
be  thus  misdirected. 

It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  our  State,  that  her 
statesmen,  and  leading  men  generally,  have  given  to 
national  issues,  whether  momentous  or  ephemeral,  ap- 
parent precedence  in  their  regard.  By  speeches,  es- 
says, and  personal  appeal,  they  have  directed  the  atten- 
tion of  our  people  so  habitually  and  constantly  to  these 
subjects,  that  many  of  our  citizens  regard  them  as  the 
only  questions  demanding  peculiar  consideration;  and 
believino-,  from  the  prominence  always  accorded  to 
national  politics,  that  the  Federal  head  at  Washington 
is  the  only  source  of  life  aiid  vitality  to  our  system  — 
that  our  national  councils  is  the  only  true  medium  of 
wise  legislation — and  that  national  glory  is  the  only 
altar  at  which  a  patriot  should  offer  oblations,  they 
have  ceased  to  manifest  that  anxious  zeal  for  the  local 


17 

prosperity  of  ilioii-  Si  ale,  wliicli  untiiroro(]  nature  itself 
\vould  otherwise  have  prompted  them  to  leel  and  ex- 
hibit. 

By  the  exam})le  of  her  Statesmen,  our  young  men 
of  genius  and  talent,  as  they  respectively  enter  the 
grand  drama  of  Ufe,  turn  aside  from  the  paths  of  Lite- 
rature—  desert  the  investigations  of  Science — forsake 
the  cultivation  of  Art — repudiate  the  homely  avoca- 
tions of  Commerce,  Trade,  and  Mechanical  Industry, 
and  seek  political  hfe  as  affording  and  opening  the  only 
sure  avenue  to  fame ;  or  those  pursuits  alone  are  cho- 
sen, which  may  eventually  lead  the  young  aspirants  to 
political  honors. 

Under  the  instruction  of  her  Patriots,  the  patriotism 
of  our  people  has  been  extended  over  a  wider  surface, 
but  it  is  wholly  ineffectual  for  good,  because  the  strength 
of  their  local  attachments  has  been  impaired.  Her  citi- 
zens abandon  their  homes  and  firesides  without  regret, 
with  positive  indifference,  and,  carrying  with  them 
wealth,  intelligence,  and  virtue,  learn,  in  some  more 
favored  State,  to  feel  and  cherish  a  devotion  to  the  im- 
mediate government  which  protects  them,  that  would 
have  had  no  kindred  feeling  here.  The  wealth  thus 
abstracted  is  enriching  every  soil  —  the  intelligence 
thus  lost  is  enlightening  every  cabinet — and  the  virtue 
thus  removed  is  adorning  every  social  circle,  in  this 
wide-spread  Union.  Not  only  is  our  State  thus  impov- 
erished by  a  continuous  ebb-tide  of  the  principal  ele- 
ments of  prosperity,  but  she  has  not  even  the  consola- 
tion of  knowing  that  she  will  retain  the  affections  and 
sympathies  of  her  departing  sons  ;  for  the  only  testimo- 
nials furnished  us,  after  their  departure,  that  the  land  of 
their  birth  holds  a  place  in  their  memories,  are  numer- 
ous   epistcjJary    supplications,    imploring    their    Iriends 


IS 

whom  they  leave  behind  to  follow  their  footsteps,  and 
abandon  a  State  that  has  not  sufficient  public  spirit  to 
gain  and  maintain  such  a  jiosition  as  will  secure  the 
affections  and  command  the  allegiance  of  her  people. 

Our  leading  men  hear,  without  rebuke,  the  State 
pride  of  an  adjoining  State  denounced  as  presumption 
and  arrogance,  and  although  it  may  be  esteemed  by 
fastidious  j^ersons  to  be  somewhat  overweening,  yet 
even  they  must  concede,  that  it  has  thrown  her  popula- 
tion in  advance  of  their  unjDretending  neighbors.  They 
hear,  without  reproof,  the  "boasted  chivalry"  of  our 
brethren  in  another  State  ridiculed,  and  the  spirit 
w^hich  prompts  its  display  condemned  as  weakness  and 
vanity,  w4iilst  it  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer, 
that,  however  objectionable  may  sometimes  be  the  man- 
ner of  its  exhibition,  their  pervading  love  and  devotion 
to  their  own  State  have  elevated  their  characters  and 
improved  their  condition. 

We  are  thus  taught  to  respond  to  no  suggestions  of 
patriotism  within  our  own  bosoms,  unless  it  embraces 
within  its  scope  an  entire  continent,  and  comprehends 
within  its  sympathy  twenty  millions  of  people.  And  is 
it  surprising  that,  whilst  thus  stationary,  awaiting  the 
growth  and  full  development  of  an  expanded  love  of 
country,  our 

"  Way  of  life  is  fallen  into  tlie  sear, 
The  yellow  leaf," 

and  that  the  impulsive  energies,  which  alone  build  up  a 
State,  should  be  nipped  by  the  frosts  of  age  before  our 
affections  and  sympathies  can  attain  the  haven  of  a 
world-wide  patriotism  ? 

I  will  not  exhaust  your  patience,  by  pointing  out  in 
detail  all  the  evil  consequences  which  have  resulted 


19 

from  ihc  iinloilunatc  proniincnce  given  to  parly  ques- 
tions, and  to  which  our  Statesmen  —  men  of  honor,  vir- 
tue, and  inteUigence — have  either  actively  or  passively 
contributed.  But  I  hazard  nothing  in  affirming,  that  if 
half  the  toil,  research,  and  eloquence,  which  have  been 
expended,  through  a  series  of  years,  in  the  party  con- 
flicts I  have  described,  had  been  devoted  to  the  promo- 
tion of  the  local  prosperity  of  North  Carolina,  I  would 
not  now  be  engaged  in  making  this  appeal  to  her  chil- 
dren on  her  behalf;  but,  on  the  contrary,  with  a  bril- 
liant present  to  animate,  and  a  glorious  future  to  cheer 
me,  I  might  have  indulged  in  strains  of  eulogy,  as  truth- 
ful, if  not  so  extravagant  and  gorgeous,  as  was  the  pan- 
egyric upon  Athens  of  "the  old  man  eloquent,"  who 
devoted  fifteen  years  to  its  composition. 

My  young  friends,  the  hopes  of  our  "good  old  State" 
are  now  concentred  in  her  young  men,  and  I  impress  it 
upon  you,  as  a  duty  of  paramount  obligation,  to  cultivate 
the  sentiment  of  State  pride.  This  feelin.o-  mav  be 
cherished  with  patriotic  ardor,  without  impairing  the 
force  of  any  obligation  imposed  by  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. It  will  loosen  no  chord,  and  weaken  no  tie, 
that  should  bind  your  affections  to  the  Union  of  the 
States  ;  and  whilst  it  abates  no  portion  of  that  general 
interest  which  we  must  feel  in  the  happiness  of  all  who 
live  with  us  in  the  same  Republic,  it  will  imbue  you 
with  unfaltering  devotion  to  your  native  State,  her  in- 
stitutions and  her  people.  vSuch  devotion,  and  such 
devotion  07ilij,  will  preserve  our  territory  from  depojD- 
ulation,  or  save  those  who  may  remain  upon  our  soil 
from  degrading  inferiority,  in  the  eyes  of  our  brethren 
in  the  other  States,  and  in  the  estimation  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  I  have  delineated  faithfully  and  truly  the 
actual  condUloii  of  the  State ;  you  have  looked  upon  the 


20 

picture :  /  can  add  nothing  that  wiU  heighten  its  im- 
pression. As  Antony  exposed  before  his  countrymen 
the  corpse  of  Cccsar,  reeking  with  blood,  and  thereby 
excited  their  minds  to  mutiny  and  rage,  so  I  present 
before  you  the  Bodi/  Politic  of  your  native  State,  bleed- 
ing from  a  hundred  woimds,  and  ask  that  their  "  dumb 
mouths"  may  speak  for  me.  If  theii'  mute  eloquence 
awaken  not  your  sympathies,  no  human  language  could 
touch  your  hearts. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Graduating  Class  : 

Life's  young  dream  is  over,  and  you  stand  upon  the 
verge  of  a  new  and  untried  existence.  A  {ew  years 
ago,  I  stood  where  you  now  stand,  and  looked  out  upon 
the  dark  vista  before  me  with  the  same  emotions,  and 
with  the  same  fond  hopes  that  animate  your  bosoms. 
The  companions  of  my  boyhood  were  around  me.  We 
thought  deeply  of  the  future  for  the  first  time,  and 
spoke  freely,  for  our  hearts  were  full.  We  parted  in 
tears :  but  the  hope  expressed,  and  the  promise  made, 
that  we  should  meet  again,  and  often,  soon  brought  sun- 
shine wdiere  clouds  before  had  hung.  We  promised, 
at  the  altars  of  our  youthful  friendships,  to  make  pil- 
grimages to  this  shrine  of  our  early  worship,  and  com- 
pare together,  amid  our  College  scenes,  the  incidents  of 
life's  journey,  /am  here  to-day,  and  in  looking  over 
this  vast  assemblage,  how  few  are  the  faces,  once  fa- 
miliar to  me  here,  that  now  meet  my  gaze  !  ]\Iy  com- 
j^eers,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  are  all  absent ;  and, 
whilst  death  has,  here  and  there,  selected  from  among 
them  some  brilliant  victim  for  sacrifice,  the  greater 
number  are  still  living,  in  all  the  freshness  and  vigor  of 
manhood.  But  they  are  gone,  and  you  ask  whither  ? 
Thev  ha\c  been  carried  from  our  associations  and  our 


21 

counsels,  by  that  spirit  of  emigration,  which  has  been 
more  destructive  to  the  vital  interests  of  our  beloved 
State  than  "war,  pestilence,  and  famine."  They  had 
gone  forth  from  these  classic  shades,  with  no  thought 
beyond  the  limits  of  their  native  State,  for  their  plans 
of  happiness,  their  dreams  of  love,  and  their  schemes  of 
ambition,  were  all  then  confined  within  her  boundaries  ; 
and  they  left  not  their  homes  until  an  effort  was  made 
for  the  fulfilment  of  young  life's  plans.  They  sought 
happiness  among  the  friends  of  their  youth,  and  upon 
the  soil  wdiich  gave  them  birth,  and  were  willing  to 
have  enjoyed  it-— where  alone,  in  this  world,  it  can  be 
found  —  in  the  wages  of  labor  and  industry;  but  their 
search  was  fruitless :  our  fields  of  energy  and  enter- 
prize  were  unexplored  ;  no  hand  was  raised  to  help ; 
no  voice  cheered  them  on ;  they  turned,  disheartened, 
and  sought  Ambition's  goal ;  they  found  it  only  amid 
the  dark  and  angry  waves  of  party  strife,  where  aspir- 
ants innumerable  stood  expectant,  each  insatiate  for  the 
spoils.  That  theatre  was  abandoned,  and  they  went  to 
Beauty's  shrine,  and  there  in  humble  adoration  knelt. 
Their  dream  of  Love  alone  of  all  their  plans,  and 
schemes,  and  dreams,  a  full  fruition  had.  Beauty's 
prize  was  won  ;  and  now  that  Beauty,  in  other  climes, 
lends  such  grace,  elegance,  and  taste,  to  life's  domestic 
scenes,  as  have  no  parallel  elsewhere  than  here  in  the 
same  old  State,  where  your  brightest  dreams  of  love 
may  likewise  be  fully  realized. 

The  world  is  now  open  before  you,  and  it  wdll  soon 
become  your  imperative  duty  to  select,  from  its  varied 
avocations,  some  honorable  pursuit,  adapted  to  your 
tastes  and  talents.  If  you  have  genius,  combined  with 
literary  taste,  pardon  the  earnest  invocation  which  I 
now  offer,  that  you  devote  yourselves  to  literary  pur- 


22 

suits  as  a  patriotic  duty.  Your  own  State  needs  the 
soul-stirring,  life-pervading  influence  of  literary  men. 
She  cannot  float  safely  in  that  impetuous  stream  of 
Progress,  upon  which  I  would  have  you  launch  her, 
without  Science  and  Learnino-  at  the  helm.  The  Pro- 
gross  of  which  I  speak  is  but  the  development  of  the 
public  mind,  sharpened  by  collision,  and  expanded  by 
unremitting  devotion  to  particular  objects.  The  en- 
larged scope  of  mental  vision  by  means  of  steam — the 
Press  —  and  the  Telegraph,  has  afforded  the  field  of 
conflict,  wdiilst  the  vast  accumulation  of  human  inter- 
ests, and  the  astounding  discoveries  in  science  and  art 
have  given  the  impulse,  and  furnished  the  incitements 
to  mental  activity.  Thus  operated  upon,  the  human 
mind  is  intensely  active.  Whether  devoted  to  purposes 
of  good,  or  perverted  to  the  generation  of  mischief,  its 
motto  is  action,  and  its  march  irresistibly  onward.  We 
have  new  theories  of  go^ei-nment,  new  theories  of  the 
world's  formation,  new  theories  of  man's  creation.  We 
have  new  theories  of  ethics,  new  philosophies  of  life, 
and  new  svstems  of  relioion.  The  chanoefal  hues  of 
the  creations  of  mind  impart  to  human  affairs  an  ever- 
varying  aspect.  In  this  mighty  revolution — social, 
moral,  political  —  agitating  the  whole  earth's  surface, 
we  require  the  guidance  of  liberal  education  and  scien- 
tific research.  Your  whole  country  needs  the  influence 
of  a  sound  American  literature.  Launched  on  the 
stream  of  Progress,  among  nations  of  a  thousand  years' 
duration,  without  hereditary  wealth  or  fixed  preroga- 
tives of  any  kind,  and  with  a  novel  form  of  government, 
the  United  States  demands  a  literature  peculiarly  her 
own — a  literature  essentially  republican — to  give  sup- 
port, steadiness,  and  buoyancy  to  the  majestic  vessel  of 
State  during  the  boundless  vovage  before  us. 


O'^ 


To  enable  you  to  lay  the  foundation  of  such  a  lite- 
rature as  would  meet  the  demands  of  your  age  and 
country-,  you  must  not  only  have  the  genius  to  discover 
truth  and  detect  ftdlacy,  but  you  must  have  varied 
learning,  cultivated  taste,  and  elevated  morals,  and 
above  all.  the  hioh  moral  couraoe  to  attack  and  refute 
those  sophisms  in  morals  and  religion  that  may  endan- 
ger our  social  welfare,  or  the  perpetuity  of  our  peculiar 
institutions.  Years  of  toil  and  research  must  be  the 
portion  of  those  who  may  contribute  to  found  such  a 
literature,  but  immortality  will  be  their  reward ;  and  I 
could  wish  my  native  State  no  future  more  glorious, 
than  that  your  generation  might  make  her  territory  the 
scene  for  such  labors. 

Patriotic  ambition  would  dictate  this  career.  But 
whatever  direction  you  may  give  your  talents,  abandon 
not  your  native  land !  Cling,  with  filial  devotion,  to 
the  soil  of  your  State.  She  has  nurtured  your  child- 
hood ;  she  has  sustained  and  cherished  your  early  man- 
hood ;  she  has  cultivated  your  minds,  improved  your 
morals,  and  protected  your  persons.  She  now  offers 
you  her  entire  domain  as  a  theatre  for  your  ambition 
—  a  benificent  Government  for  your  sujiport — and  a 
virtuous  people  for  your  companions.  And,  in  return^ 
asks  only  that  j^ou  remain  upon  her  soil^ — give  her  the 
benefit  of  your  counsels — help,  when  she  declines  — 
impel,  as  she  advances.  If  you  have  patriotism,  how 
strong  is  her  appeal  to  your  aflections  and  sympathies  I 
If  you  have  State  jDride,  that  appeal  will  be  irresistible. 
Fulfil,  then,  a  bright  destiny  in  some  department  of 
excellence  within  her  borders,  and  the  plaudits  of  a 
grateful  people  will  hail  you  as  Benefactors  and  Pat- 
riots. 


